a state in which the police, particularly the secret police, have wide and arbitrary power to survey, harrass and intimidate the citizenry, who are denied their civil rights and cannot protest thier treatment or seek redress through the normal administrative or judicial channels of government. Such is the case in totalitarian societies, which rule by force rather than law.

a country that maintains repressive control over the people by means of police (especially secret police)

a political entity where the government maintains strict control over society , particularly through use of a (often secret) police force

a society that is characterised by a great amount of state control over the everyday lives of the citizenry

a state in which the government maintains strict control over the population, particularly through

a state in which the government maintains strict political or social control over the population without adhering to the rule of law

a totalitarian state

A police state is a state with authority which uses the police, especially secret police, to maintain and enforce political power, through violent or arbitrary means if necessary. A police state typically exhibits elements of totalitarianism or other harsh means of social control. In a police state the police are not subject to the rule of law in an emergency and there is no meaningful distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the executive.